Florida Senate - 2020                                     SB 296
       
       
        
       By Senator Albritton
       
       
       
       
       
       26-00180-20                                            2020296__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to property assessment administration;
    3         amending s. 195.022, F.S.; requiring the Department of
    4         Revenue to pay for aerial photographs and nonproperty
    5         ownership maps furnished to fiscally constrained
    6         counties; defining the term “fiscally constrained
    7         county”; providing an effective date.
    8          
    9  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   10  
   11         Section 1. Section 195.022, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   12  read:
   13         195.022 Forms, aerial photographs, and nonproperty
   14  ownership maps to be prescribed by Department of Revenue.—
   15         (1) The Department of Revenue shall prescribe all forms to
   16  be used by property appraisers, tax collectors, clerks of the
   17  circuit court, and value adjustment boards in administering and
   18  collecting ad valorem taxes. The department shall prescribe a
   19  form for each purpose. The county officer shall reproduce forms
   20  for distribution at the expense of his or her office. A county
   21  officer may use a form other than the form prescribed by the
   22  department upon obtaining written permission from the executive
   23  director of the department; however, a county officer may not
   24  use a form if the substantive content of the form varies from
   25  the form prescribed by the department for the same or a similar
   26  purpose. If the executive director finds good cause to grant
   27  such permission he or she may do so. The county officer may
   28  continue to use the approved form until the law that specifies
   29  the form is amended or repealed or until the officer receives
   30  written disapproval from the executive director. Otherwise, all
   31  such officers and their employees shall use the forms, and
   32  follow the instructions applicable to the forms, which are
   33  prescribed by the department.
   34         (2)(a) Upon the request of any property appraiser or, in
   35  any event, at least once every 3 years, the department shall
   36  prescribe and furnish such aerial photographs and nonproperty
   37  ownership maps to the property appraisers as necessary to ensure
   38  that all real property within the state is properly listed on
   39  the roll.
   40         (b) All aerial photographs and maps furnished to fiscally
   41  constrained counties or to counties with a population of 25,000
   42  or fewer must shall be paid for by the department as provided by
   43  law. As used in this paragraph, the term “fiscally constrained
   44  county” means a county within a rural area of opportunity as
   45  designated by the Governor pursuant to s. 288.0656 or each
   46  county for which the value of a mill will raise no more than $5
   47  million in revenue, based on the certified school taxable value
   48  certified pursuant to s. 1011.62(4)(a)1.a., from the previous
   49  July 1.
   50         (c) For all other counties with a population greater than
   51  25,000, the department shall furnish such aerial photographs and
   52  maps items at the property appraiser’s expense. The department
   53  may incur reasonable expenses for procuring aerial photographs
   54  and nonproperty ownership maps and may charge a fee to the
   55  respective property appraiser equal to the cost incurred.
   56         (d) The department shall deposit such fees into the
   57  Certification Program Trust Fund created pursuant to s. 195.002.
   58  There shall be a separate account in the trust fund for the aid
   59  and assistance activity of providing aerial photographs and
   60  nonproperty ownership maps to property appraisers. The
   61  department shall use money in the fund to pay such expenses.
   62         (3) All forms and maps and instructions relating to their
   63  use must be substantially uniform throughout the state. An
   64  officer may employ supplemental forms and maps, at the expense
   65  of his or her office, which he or she deems expedient for the
   66  purpose of administering and collecting ad valorem taxes. The
   67  forms required in ss. 193.461(3)(a) and 196.011(1) for renewal
   68  purposes must require sufficient information for the property
   69  appraiser to evaluate the changes in use since the prior year.
   70  If the property appraiser determines, in the case of a taxpayer,
   71  that he or she has insufficient current information upon which
   72  to approve the exemption, or if the information on the renewal
   73  form is inadequate for him or her to evaluate the taxable status
   74  of the property, he or she may require the resubmission of an
   75  original application.
   76         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.